Riverfront series earns our support

Give Port Huron Recreation Department employees their due: They know how to make the music play, and Port Huron is the beneficiary.

For the past three years, the recreation department has organized Rockin the Rivers, a series of free Thursday evening concerts at Kiefer Park along the St. Clair River. Each year, the concerts have garnered rave reviews.

The music covers a variety of genres including country, rock and Motown. There also are activities for children to enjoy. The recreation department sells T-shirts and hamburgers, and the Knights of Columbus has a beverage concession stand.

About 600 music fans turned out for its August 2009 debut. Last summer, the series drew from 1,500 to 2,000 people per concert.

That's remarkable - especially given the community debate about city government's role in entertainment events. The concert series' popularity has steadily increased with few, if any, sour notes from the public.

"It seems like everyone is in a good mood down there," said Nancy Winzer, the recreation department's director.

"It's one of the most beautiful scenes out there on the river. It's just a time to enjoy the community and your family."

When you've got a good thing, expanding it makes sense. August has five Thursdays this year. Winzer hopes to see the concerts go from four to five.

It will take about $5,000 to stage the extra concert. The recreation department is asking the public to pick up the tab.

All things considered, $5,000 is a small price for an event that brings so much community satisfaction. It also is a reminder that government and the public can cooperate for their mutual benefit.

The recreation department is nurturing a summer event that promises to become a Port Huron tradition. If the fifth concert is added, there is the possibility that Rockin the Rivers might expand to September in years to come.

E&A Credit Union, Three Olives Vodka and the Earl Smith Distributing Co. are the concert series' leading sponsors. They made a sound investment.

New donors should give the community more of what it wants.

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Riverfront series earns our support

Give Port Huron Recreation Department employees their due: They know how to make the music play, and Port Huron is the beneficiary.